o.T/^V ^ ^ 




iCTS 





m 

1 Ms* 



AN ACCOUNT 



OF THE GREAT 



»! 



NEW ENGLAND 



(WITCHCRAFT: 



WITH AN ATTEMPT TO EXHIBIT THE PHILOSOPHY OF 



SPECTRE SEEING, CHARMING, ETC. 



EMBRACED IN A 



LECTURE ON THE 0CCU1T SCIENCES 




Kimball tir Butttrf J d. Printers. Limn 



LECTURE 



OCCULT SCIEN.CES: 



EMBRACING SOME ACCOUNT OF THE 



NEW ENGLAND WITCHCRAFT, 



WITH AN ATTEMPT TO EXHIBIT THE PHILOSOPHY OF 



SPECTRE SEEING, DISEASE CHARMING, &c. 



sV 



BY JAMES RrNEWHALL 



[published by request o 



t AUDITORS.] 



SALEM: 

PUBLISHED BY G. W. & E. CRAFTS, 

1845. 






Entered according to act of congress, in the year 1845, by 

G. W. & E. CRAFTS, 
In the clerk's office of the district court of Massachusetts. 






PART I 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 




TRICTLY speaking, perhaps no- 
thing is a science which is not dem- 
onstrable. Yet it would savor too 
strongly of hypercriticism to reject 
the generic term "Occult Sciences," in reference to 
the systems of Astrology, Conjuration, Demonology, 
©ivination, Enchantment, Fascination, Magic, Ne- 
cromancy, Sorcery, Witchcraft, &,c. At all events, we have the high- 
est sanction for the usage. 

The following pages, which embrace the substance of a lecture de- 
livered before several lyceum institutions, contain as full an examina- 
tion of those in all ages more or less prevalent systems, as practicable. 
But Witchcraft is the subject chiefly dwelt upon, that seeming of 
rather the most tangible nature, and most interesting in its develop- 
ments and history.* 

No subject, probably, has been more diversely estimated by differ- 
ent minds, or more generally passed over without such examination as 
might lead to a just conclusion as to its nature and merits, than that 
popularly known as Witchcraft. Yet, at least that strange and start- 
ling episode in the history of New England, known as the Salem 
Witchcraft — the witchcraft of 1692 — is worthy of something more 
than a sneer. We are accustomed to look back upon that terriffic 
outbreak as a wild, a fearful dream of the past — sad in its effects, but 



*Rev. Mr. Upliam, of Salem, a few years since published a volume upon Witchcraft. It 
contains much valuable matter, presented in an interesting form. And there would certainly 
be no apology for the publication of a portion of the present work, were it not that the writer 
has ventured to take a somewhat different view of the merits of the subject, from that taken by 
the learned and experienced author referred to. This, however, he has done with the most un- 
feigned diffidence, 



a genuine delusion — the legitimate offspring of no recognised princi- 
ple of human action — an occurrence, justly exciting in one, pity; in 
another, contempt ; in another, mirth ; in all, astonishment ; but in 
none, serious consideration. 

It is not conclusive evidence of perfect wisdom in the fancied seek- 
ers after truth, to be continually tossed upon a sea of doubt. This, 
however, is in general the only evidence we have of their wisdom. A 
well-ordered shaking of the head has with many proved very produc- 
tive philosophical capital. But there are strange peculiarities in the 
honest reasoning and observation of men. Illimitable is the number 
of those who appear to think there is no truth, save such as can be 
recognised by one at least of the externa! senses. Others seem to 
have little pr no affection for truth, unless they find her sporting in a 
mantle of mystery. "Unlimited skepticism," says Dugald Stuart, ''is 
as much the child of imbecility as implicit credulity." 

Every observing mind, too, has been astonished to perceive what 
diversity there is among people, as to the weight they attach to evi- 
dence of the different kinds, or to that connected with any given sub- 
ject.* And it is a curious fact that some begin to doubt at the very 
point where others begin to believe. This is clearly exemplified both 
among the learned and the ignorant. We may refer to the celebrated 
Dr. Johnson, in illustration. He was remarkable for his disbelief in 
all relations of uncommon occurrences in the natural world, and quite 
as remarkable for his firm belief in wonders of the spiritual world. It 
was really dangerous for any one to attempt to give him an account of 
an extraordinary tempest, a hurricane, or conflagration, if he had his 
cane at hand. The narrator was fortunate if he escaped with no se- 
verer visitation than the characteristic vociferation — You lie sir! 
hold your tongue sir! Yet if one went to him with the whimsical de- 
tails of some ghost-hunting expedition, or of the fulfilment of some 
wonderful dream, he was sure of a patieni hearing. It is said that he 



* '.This is one circumstance which not unfrequently occasions great perplexity in courts of 
justice. Some people can feel no force in evidence which is perfectly convincing to others. 
And it is curious to observe how often witnesses, all testifying to the same facts, which came 
under the immediate observation of each, and all conscientiously aiming to disclose the truth, 
seemingly all but directly contradict each other. The inexperienced jurors smile, but the 
judges and attorneys take it gravely as a matter of course. These disagreements in testimony 
may arise from the different lights in which people view things, from the different impressions 
made upon the mind, and from the fact that one mind may fix upon a point as the most impor- 
tant, which to another is so frivolous as to be entirely overlooked. What to one may at the 
time have appeared the whole gist of the matter to another may have seemed a mere incident. 
A.nd the whole web of testimony is woven accordingly. 



and John Wesley once came near having a serious quarrel, because 
the latter did not pursue, with sufficient zeal to suit the Doctor, a ghost, 
represented to have appeared in some part of London. 

The credulity of others — of a vast majority, perhaps — runs in a 
channel directly the reverse. They will believe utter absurdities — im- 
possibilities — when they relate to the physical world. But of transac- 
tions beyond the possibility of recognition by the senses, they have 
no conception, will believe nothing. 

Prejudice, or professional dignity, or a deep rooted affection for 
the good old ways of our fathers, it is to be apprehended, too often 
prevents a successful search after truth, among those otherwise most 
competent for the labor. Sir Astley Cooper refused to be present at 
some novel though highly important experiments undertaken by a pro- 
fessional brother, because he had a character to lose! The professor 
of philosophy at Padua, refused to look through Galileo's telescope 
for the purpose of convincing himself that Jupiter had satellites; and 
together with an equally wise philosophical brother of Pisa, made 
speeches to prove that Jupiter could boast of no such ornaments ; but, 
as Galileo sagely intimates, it proved impossible for them to argue the 
luminaries >out of heaven. Cecil spoke of Lord Bacon as a man of 
mere speculation ; and of his philosophical discoveries as new and 
amusing, but fanciful and absurd ! But examples are not required, to 
show that the schoolmen are sufficiently inclined to pursue the beaten 
track, without risking reputation in the endeavor to discover and ex- 
hibit new truths. 

Most people prefer laboring with their hands rather than their heads. 
They are more ready to act than think — unless they are too indolent 
to do either. And hence, when a subject, no matter how deep or 
complicated, is presented, they at once give a jump at a conclusion 
as to its nature or merits*! and just where they happen to alight, there 
they forever remain ; there they plant their sympathies and mould their 
principles. Some of their neighbors, perhaps, land far enough from 
them, and each, of course, looks upon the other as lamentably blinded 
by the mire into which he has fallen. From this very aversion to men- 
tal exercise, many and gross errors are entertained by the great mass 
of mankind. * 

And again : The modes of thinking are about as much guided by 
fashion as the modes of dress. One community will hold, as with a 
death-grasp, principles which would shock another community ; and 
-one age will cherish and nurse, with the lenderest solicitude, senti- 



ments which would excite nothing but contempt and ridicule inanoth* 
er age. The old proverb that it is as well to be out of the world as out 
of the fashion, bears sway in mental action, to as great an extent as 
elsewhere. Most people have the utmost horror of appearing singular, 
in their conduct or opinions, and hence carefully avoid straying from 
the path which others have trodden. And some again are so timid, 
that they would forever let their sails lie loose, rather than run into a 
strange country. 

Our sympathies, too, have more to do with moulding our views, 
than we are generally aware of. The judgment is frequently led cap- 
tive by the sympathies. Curious experiments have been tried on this 
point. By a skilful hand, whole communities, whole nations, have 
been thoroughly imbued with the most absurd notions, the most re- 
volting principles. This is the great high road on which quackery, 
and creatures far more to be dreaded, travel in safety. And the sym- 
pathies operate as a contagious medium, through which people catch 
opinions as readily as they catch the measles; and oftentimes with 
just about as much benefit 10 themselves and those around them. 
The story of the nun will be remembered. Though she was not 
probably attempting any philosophical experiment, the case affords 
just as apt an illustration. From some strange impulse, she began 
one day, to mew, like a cat. And the next day, and the next, from 
the same impulse, she repeated her feline exercise. At length, one 
or two of her recluse sisters imitated her. The contagion spread 
through the community, and the interesting performance was no more 
neglected than was the duty of saying prayers. Not one could give 
any more satisfactory reason for the habit, than that the others did so. 
The grave old abbess herself finally joined them. And the ludicrous 
exhibitions did not close, till a most severe penalty was attached to 
every such breach of decorum, by the authorities. The counteraction 
induced, soon opened their eyes to the perfect absurdity of the habit, 
and for a time it was about as hard to restrain their laughter at the 
delusive spell from which they had become released, as it was to break 
the spell itself. But there was a kind of reality in all this; a reality 
similar to that in witchcraft. " The mass of mankind," as Dr. Paley 
observes, " act more from habit than reflection." 

Truth itself is immutable. And fashion, sympathy, prejudice, nor 
age, can change its nature. 



PART II. 



Various Phases of Witchcraft. Sketches of its History. A Glance at the 
Grounds on which its Claims to Belief rest. Details of the Remarkable Out- 
break in JVew England, in 1692. Spectral Appearances, fyc. tfc. 

When I consider whether there are such persons as Witches, ray mind is 
divided : I believe in general that there is such a thing as Witchcraft, but 
can give no credit to any particular instance of it.— Addison. 




T is less than two centuries since all Christen- 
dom believed in witchcraft, demonology, and all 
similar systems. Now, almost all Christendom 
laughs at such things. In this, there is no proof 
for or against their truth. Are our school boys 
wiser than the philosophers of old? Are there 
greater minds, or more learned, pious, and re- 
flecting men, than formerly ? Certainly not. 
And none need be told that some of the greatest mental lights that 
ever shed lustre upon science or religion, also aimed to make lumi- 
nous those abstruse systems. 

The progress of fashion is as clearly exemplified, probably, in gen- 
eral interpretations of scripture, as in any thing that could be in- 
stanced. That the views of this age are correct, we, of course, 
believe; but a coming age may deem them absurd; just as we deem 
absurd the interpretations of past time. We all believe Martin Luther 
was a great man, and a man sincerely zealous in the cause of his 
Master ; and our souls are nourished by the strong meat which his 
able hand prepared. But how much is our respect for him increased, 
when he gravely tells us of the Devil's coming into his bed room, and 
cracking stolen hazel nuts against hiss bed post, and otherwise disturb- 
ing his rest ? Yet the Bible, in his view, created or sanctioned such 
belief. And in the variations of the views of mankind in relation to 
certain scriptural truths, the history of witchcraft is in a great degree 



8 

involved. When the belief in witchcraft prevailed, the received, the 
only, interpretations of scripture, required such belief. The converser 
is our case. It has, indeed, been said that witchcraft was entirely 
unknown till after Christianity began ; that is, witchcraft as the term 
is now understood, for we are not unmindful that witches are spoken 
of in the Old Testament.* The reason given is that such a being as 

*The remarkable, and to modern theorists perplexing, story of the Witch of Endor, found in? 
the 28th ciiapter of 1st Samuel, is, or ought to be, familiar to everyone- The story is a short 
and simple one. "Samuel was dead, and .all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in 
Raman." Saul was ruler in the land'. " And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, 
and the wizards out of the land." The Philistine hosts had assembled against him, and when 
he saw them " he was afraid and his heart greatly trembled." ■ He then resorted to three su- 
pernatural methods for gaining instruction from the Lord, as to lie-w be should proceed ; he 
inquired of the Lord by dreams, by Urim, and by prophets. But the Lord answered him not. 
" Then said Saul unto his servants,. Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go 
to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a 
familiar spirit at Endor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, 
and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night. ; and be said, I pray thee, di- 
vine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up whom I shall name unto thee. And 
the woman said unto him, Behold, 'thou k no west what Saul hath done, how he hath cuS off 
those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land : wherefore layest thou a snare 
for my life, to cause me to die? And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liv- 
eth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. Then said the woman, Whom 
Shaft I bring up unto thee ? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw 
Samuel, she cried with a loud Voice : and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou 
deceived me? for thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid : for what savvest 
thou ? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said 
unto her, What form ishe of? , And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with 
a mantle. And Sau! perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground,, 
and bowed himself. And Samuel said unto Saul, Why bast thou disquieted me to bring me 
up?" Nowhere is an account which cannot be trifled with. And to three points I would 
particularly ask attention. 1. Samuel actually did appear. To deny this would be directly to- 
deny the Bible. 2. Both Saul and the witch herself had faith in her power to raise up the 
seer. " Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me 
up Samuel." This certainly indicates full confidence in her power. 3. He came up imme- 
diately on her incantations. Not one of the best commentators, I believe, has ventured to ex- 
press a doubt that Samuel actually appeared ; but they, or some of them, have fixed upon the 
idea that the woman did not expect to call him up, and was surprised and alarmed when he 
arose. But it would be quite as accordant with the account to suppose thac her alarm was oc- 
casioned by the discovery that she was in the awful presence of Saul, he who had visited with 
terrible vengeance all who practised such arts as those in which she was at that moment en- 
gaged. This conclusion seems to follow in the direct order of the incidents. Able commen- 
tators have supposed that the appearance of Samuel was entirely independent of the witch's 
arts; that her incantations had altogether failed, she not having succeeded in making one of 
her familiars assume the shape of Samuel ; that the real appearance of the prophet was a true 
miracle wrought by almighty power. But here are the facts : Samuel did appear on her incan- 
tations, as was expected by her and Saul. And at the same time that Samuel arose she also 
seems to have discovered that she was in Saul's presence; and from this discovery her alarm 
appears to have arisen. There was miraculous power exercised. Was it exercised through her 
agency? I have here spoken of the scriptural statements without reference to modern defini- 
nitions of witchcraft. Commentators too often make sad havoc with the sacred texc. Their 
disquisitions are not always the most profitable kind of reading; particularly when they give 
loose to sectarian bias, or when they propose to support some favorite theory. 



9 

that called by christians the devil, was unknown to the heathen sys- 
tems. And a witch is defined to be one who has deliberately entered 
into a compact with the devil ; to have actually signed a writing, giv- 
ing up his or her soul, after death, to the prince of darkness, 
on condition that his majesty will bestow certain supernatural pow- 
ers, to be exercised till death. 

In the Commentaries of Sir William Blackstone, a work from which 
men, ages hence, will continue to draw wisdom, is this passage : " To 
deny the possibility, nay the actual existence of witchcraft and sorce- 
ry, is at once flatly to contradict the revealed word of,God." 

The intellectual and pious Addison, as may have been observed by 
the little quotation from the Tattler, placed at the beginning of this 
division of my remarks, says, "I believe in general that there is such 
a thing as witchcraft." 

The eminent Baxter denounced as "obdurate sadducees " the dis- 
believers in witchcraft. We might also refer to Sir Matthew Hale, 
to the good William Perm, to Bacon, and to hosts of others of the great 
and good, who have been equally clear in expressing their belief in 
the existence of witchcraft. 

" Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." — Exodus xxii : 18. Adam 
Clarke remarks on this passage : " Had there been no witches, such 
a law as this had never been made. The existence of the law, given 
under the direction of the Spirit of God, proves the existence of ihe 
thing That witches, wizards, those who dealt with famil- 
iar spirits, &c, are represented in the sacred writings, as actually pos- 
sessing a power to evoke the dead, to perform supernatural operations, 
and to discover hidden or secret things, by spells, charms, incanta- 
tions, &c, is evident to every unprejudiced reader of the Bible." But 
we need not individualize; the whole christian world held it as a part 
of their system. 

One of the strongest evidences of the existence of man's spiritual 
nature, separate from his physical — of his immortality — is his uncon- 
trollable flights beyond the visible world, his seekings after some- 
thing within the veil. The faith of some ages has been bright and 
beautiful ; of others, wild and romantic ; of others, gloomy and austere. 
And theology, literature, every thing, has been tinged by that faith. 
Poetry has received some of her loveliest ornaments, from the glowing 
systems of ages past, and even now the susceptible heart lingers fondly 
around the fading light. How beautifully has Coleridge referred to this : 
2 



10 

" O never rudely will 1 blame his fai th- 
in the might of stars and angels. 
The intelligible forms of ancient poets, 
The fair humanities of old religion, 
The power, the beauty and the majesty, 
That had her haunts in dell or piny mountain, 
Or forest, by slow stream, or pebbly sprincr, 
Or chasms and wat'ry depths; all these have vanished; 
They live no longer in the faith of reason. 
Eut still the heart doth need a language; still 
Doth the old instinct bring back the old names, 
And to yon starry world they now are gone, 
Spirits or gods who used to share this earth 
With man as with a friend : and to the lover, 
Yonder they move ; from yonder visible sky 
Shoot influence down ; and, even at this day, 
'T is Jupiter who brings whate'er is great, 
And Venus who brings every thing that's fair." 

The great witchcraft excitement at Salem, and indeed throughout 
New England, in 1692, though in some respects the most remarkable, 
was by no means the most frightful outbreak that ever occurred^ 
Perhaps the most dreadful exhibitions took place in the fifteenth and 
sixteenth centuries. In 1515, in three months, five hundred witches 
were burned at Geneva. A single judge, in one province of France, ii> 
the course of fifteen years, towards the close of the sixteenth century, 
condemned to the stake not less than nine hundred. In different parts 
of Europe, from the time Christianity began, down to near the close 
of the last century, there were occasional outbreaks, more or less 
fearful. 

We remarked, a paragraph or two back, that a witch, properly, 
was one who was supposed to have entered into a solemn compact, 
reduced to writing, with the devil. This, of course, supposes the at 
least occasional corporeal appearance of his satanic majesty. It is 
common, at this day, to refer the term devil to the abstract spirit of 
evil ; so the corner stone is removed. But in nil places where and 
all times when witchcraft has prevailed, the universal belief has been 
that the devil was as real a being as existed ; and that he had legions 
of imps ever ready to do his bidding,. The value received by the 
witches, in consideration of the surrender of their souls at death, in 
part consisted in the power to command the aid of invisible spirits, to 
harrass and torment those whom their malice, revenge or fancy should 
point out as victims, by pinching, strangling, biting, scratching, scald- 
ing, &c. The witches themselves were to have power to appear in 
the shape of beasts or spectres, or almost any form ; also power to 



11 

inflict diseases upon their victims, and to cause them to pine away 
and die. 

There is a possibility that the knowledge of the art of printing 
would have died with the inventor, had it not been for the popular be- 
lief in devil dealing. When the inventor appeared in the market place 
of Mentz, with a sample of his printed sheets, the people crowded 
around, and were very much astonished at their perfection. But their 
astonishment was redoubled on finding that they were precisely alike. 
If there was a wrong or defective letter in one, the same was the case 
with the whole ; if there was a graceful flourish in one, none were 
without it. They besought him to inform them by what extraordinary 
process he had been able to produce such results. He made a secret 
of the discovery, designing to turn it to great future account. A panic 
soon seized upon the people. Terror mingled with their astonishment. 
They believed the inventor to have accepted an agency for the devil. 
He was seized and thrown into prison. And finally, to obtain release, 
he was forced to make known his secret. 

Some learned writers have been at great pains to fix upon a cause 
for the extraordinary outbreak known the world over as the Salem 
"Witchcraft. But of the result of these learned labors, people naturally 
entertain different views. The peculiarly trying situationj)f the colo- 
nists, at the period immediately preceding, has been forced prominently 
into view, as having prepared the public mind for such aji excitement. 
That certainly was, in almost any point of view, an exceedingly dark 
period. The broad land was still almost entirely overshadowed by the 
primeval forest. The Indians had been making a most desperate ef- 
fort for the extermination of the pale-skinned intruders upon their soil. 
To the ruthless Indian warfare, had been added the skill of the French.* 
The political affairs of the settlers, too, had for a time worn a most 
gloomy aspect. f 

* The dreadful conflict with the Indians, known as Philip's War, commenced in 1675. The 
red men fought f wjth^ desperation which could only have been felt by an expiring nation. The 
darkness of the winter's night was broken by the glare of the blazing habitation ; and the path 
to many a settlement was traced by the blood upon the snows. The colonies never before sus- 
tained such a shock from their jealous and infuriated neighbors. Six hundred of the bravest'of 
the colonial soldiery were lost in this war ; a number of towns were made desolate ; and six 
hundred dwellings destroyed. But it proved one of the last,endeavors of the Indians. From 
the disasters of the swamp fight they never recovered ; though spasmodic efforts were occasion- 
ally made, for years. But in 1690, the colonists were called to the field to face new, and in 
some respects, far more powerful enemies. The war with the French and Indians had broken 
out, and to the savage practices of the latter, were added the experienced generalship, the mc^e 
rdeadly weapon, the national hatred, of the former. 

t It was in 1684 that the colonial charter was annulled. And two years after, the cunning, 
^arbitrary, and overbearing Sir Edmund Andros arrived with his royal commission. And no 



12 

But the idea that these had any thing to do with the cause' of the 
eruption, does not seem very satisfactory, when we consider that in 
other portions of the world, where they did not exist, similar transac- 
tions took place. And they would indeed seem rather to have a ten- 
dency to divert the mind from things pertaining to the unseen world. 
Might we not rather conclude that the cause was involved in facts like 
these : The whole civilized world at that time believed in witchcraft. 
There were no more, raising their voices against it than there are rais- 
ing their voices against Christianity itself at the present day. The 
received interpretations of scripture required such belief. The laws 
of England and of all other christianized countries recognized it as a 
crime.* And then, what is very important, let us bear in mind that 
the colonists were singularly pertinacious in fancying that they were 
specially sent here by divine providence for the purpose of preserving 
pure those gospel doctrines which they and their brethren of the old 
world had sacrificed so much to sustain. Their minds were well pre- 
pared for the dark and fearful apprehension that the devil, while 



reader of New England history will need to be informed of the public ferment which his gross 
acts of oppression occasioned. He seemed to aim solely to aggrandize himself and his follow- 
ers. Oppressive taxes were imposed ; new offices with exorbitant fees were instituted ; a re- 
moulding or renewal of real-estate titles was required, and heavy charges for all property tran- 
sactions levied. In short, next to enriching himself and his friends, his object seemed to be to 
vex and harrass those whom he governed. If the people of New England ever rejoiced, it was 
on the accession of William and Alary. 

*Says Judge fe lack's to he': .... The thing itself [witchcraft] is a truth to which every na- 
tion it) ? lie world hath in its turn borne testimony, either by examples seemingly well attested, 
or by prohibiiory laws; which at least suppose the possibility of commerce with evil spirits. 
The civil law punishes with death not only the sorcerers themselves, but also those who con- 
sult them; imitating in the former the express law of God, 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.' 
And our own laws, both before and since the conquest, have been equally penal ; ranking this 
crime in the same class with heresy, and condemning both to the Haines." A statute of 33 
Henry VIII. made all witchcraft and sorcery, felony, without benefit of clergy. And a statute 
of 1 James I. enacted " that al.i persons invoking any evil spirit, or consulting, covenanting 
with, entertaining, employing, feeding, or rewarding any evil spirit; or taking up dead bodies 
from their graves to be used in any witchcraft, sorcery, chaim, or enchantment; or killing or 
otherwise hurting any person by suUi infernal arts, should be guilty of felony without benefit 
of clergy, and suffer death. And if any person should attempt by sorcery to discover hidden 
treasure, or to restore stolen goods, or to provoke unlawful love, or to hurt any man or beast, 
though the same were not effected, he should suffer imprisonment and pillory for the first of- 
fence, and death for the second.' The peculiar interest, which James individually exhibited, 
however, in these matters, did not meet with the reception, in after years, which he probably 
e.vp ecled. His book-making propensity added but liltfe lustre to his regal fame ; though that 
fame was none the brightest, it was a cutting remark of the commentator, that "such a scep- 
tre was too weighty to be wielded by such a hand." James how ever, had the wisdom and 
grace to recant some of his vagaries, before his death. Witchcraft had its legal ups and downs 
in England, till by statute of 9 George II. it was enacted " that no prosecution shall for the fu- 
ture be carried on against any persons for conjuration, witchcraft, sorcery, or enchantment." 
But still, persons pretending to be witches, fortune-tellers, &c, would, as with us, be guilty of 
misdemeanor, and. fall under the provisions of vagrant acts. 



13 

wandering up and down the earth, seeking where he could do most mis- 
chief, had discovered this sequestered niche, which contained all that 
was pure, nil that was lovely in the system established by him to whom 
of old he had offered all the kingdoms of the world for the boon of 
worship. And could they doubt that on making the discovery he had 
summoned his strongest powers for the destruction of the holy vine 
which they under the keenest privations had planted, and, at every 
earthly hazard, had cherished. 

The remarkable excitement at Salem, commenced early in the year 
1092. In the latter part of February, two little girls in the family of 
Rev. Mr. Parris, one his own daughter, named Elizabeth, about nine 
years, and the other, his neice, named Abigail Williams, twelve years 
of age, together with a girl in the neighborhood, named Ann Putnam, 
began to act in a most strange and unaccountable manner.* They did 
not, however, at first, appear to be maliciously or viciously inclined. 
They would jabber in strange language wild and unmeaning speeches. 
They would distort their countenances into the most odd and gro- 
tesque expressions, even on the most solemn occasions, and put their 
bodies into all manner of uncommon and unseemly postures. They 
would roll upon the floor, creep under chairs and tables, and crawl 



* These occurrences took place at Salem Village as it was then called, but now known as 
North Danvers.. The church was established here in 1671, as a branch of the first church of 
Salem. Rev. Mr. Braman was the late pastor. Mr. Parris, in whose family the excitement 
commenced, was the fourth pastor. He was born at London, in 1653, and settled here, in 1689. 
The second pastor was Rev. George Burroughs; and it is painful to remark that he was executed 
for witchcraft, on Gallows Hill, August J9, 1C92, under peculiarly affecting circumstances. Mr. 
Parris was a man of learning and fervent piety, but, in common with the Puritan clergy in 
general, lie took a most dark and melancholy view of human nature. He appeared to perceive 
nothing bright or jbeautiful in the outward world, and nothing but corruption in the human 
heart. In looking over the parish records, some years s;nc;e, I was induced to transcribe the 
following, which stands in Mr. Parris's own hand writing. And while copy ing, it was impos- 
sible to avoid a thought of the agony which filled the heart of him who made the record. 

" 27 March, Sab., 1692, Sacrament Day. 

"After the common auditory was dismissed, and before (he church communion at the Lord's 
table, the following testimony against the error of our sister Mary Sibley, who had given di- 
rection to my Indian man in an unwarrantable way, to find out witches, was read by the 
pastor. It is altogether undenyable that our great and blessed God hath suffered many persons, 
in several families, of this little village, to be greviously vexed and tortured in body, and to be 
deeply tempted, to the endangering of the destruction of their souls, and all these amazing facts 
(well known to many of us) to be done by witchcraft and diabolical operations. It is also well 
known that when these calamities first began, which was in my own family, the affliction was 
several weeks before such hellish operations as witchcraft was suspected. Nay it never brake 
forth to any considerable light until diabolical means were used by the making of a cake by my 
Indian-man, who had his directions! from this our Sister Mary Sibley, since which apparitions 
have been plenty, and exceeding much mischief hath followed. But by this means it seems 
.the devil hath been raised amongst us, and hid rage is vehement and terrible, and when he shall 
r be silenced the Lord only knows." 



14 

into holes. They would seize the firebrands and scatter them around 
the rooms, besmear themselves with ashes, and as a quaint writer of 
that time says, make as if they would go up chimney. Such conduct, 
of course, excited the most painful apprehensions of their parents and 
friends; particularly as persuasion, threats, nor reprimands could over- 
come it. Considerable time was spent, in using every effort which 
the tenderest and most anxious solicitude could devise, to remove the 
cause, whatever it might be, of tins strange conduct; but all efforts 
were unavailing. Physicians were now sent for, and after ma- 
turely considering the cases, it was decided that the children 
were bewitched ! And this was the lighting up -of that fire which 
sheds such a melancholy light over the historic page of that period. 
The annunciation carried terror to every bosom. A heavier cloud 
settled upon the brow of the old ; the joyous blood of the youthful 
heart was suddenly chilled ; the happy laugh of childhood was sub- 
dued, suppressed. Every thing seemed linged as with a glare from 
the nether world. The excitement soon began to spread. Several 
other girls in the neighborhood became affected. Private and pub- 
lic fasts were held. And if ever fervent, agonizing prayers went up 
to heaven from the hearts and lips of men, it was from the terror- 
stricken ones of that dark period. Scrupulously did they fast; earn- 
estly did they pray, that the spiritual plague might not be permitted to 
spread. On the solemn occasion of public exercise, the bewitched 
themselves were generally present; and not unfrequently their most 
violent fits came on during the exercises. And they would sometimes 
go into the. most dreadful convulsions. The first person accused by 
these children, of bewitching them, was an old Indian woman in the 
family of Mr. Parris, and she actually confessed that she did bewitch 
them, having derived her supernatural powers from the evil one, with 
whom she had entered into a most solemn league. This confession, 
as may well be supposed, added immensely to the excitement. Few, 
now, could doubt that the arch enemy had commenced his dreadful 
work in their midst in good earnest. 

Increase Mather, in giving an account of a visit he made to Salem 
Village, on the 19th of March, mentions this Abigail Williams, whom 
he saw in one of her fits. He says, " she was hurried to and fro in 
the room," though those present endeavored to restrain her. She 
stretched out her arms as though she would fly; and insisted that she 
saw the spectre of an old woman who lived in the neighborhood. 
.She ran to the fire and threw firebrands about the house; and did 



15 

Other things of a similar .nature. That night, Mather says, he lodged 
at the house of Nathaniel Ingersol, which was in the neighborhood of 
Mr. Parris's. " Presently after I came into my lodgings," says he, 
" Capt. Walcot's daughter Mary came to Lieutenant Ingersol's and 
spake to me; but suddenly after, as she stood by the door, was bitten, 
so that she cried out, of her wrist; and looking on it with a candle, 
we saw apparently the marks of teeth, both upper and lower set, on 
each side of the wrist." He preached in the village the next day, 
which was the Sabbath, and there were present at the meeting several 
of the afflicted persons ; among them Abigail Williams. And there 
was also present a woman named Martha Cory, who was the next day 
examined on the charge of being a witch ; and who was finally execu- 
ted. Continuing his account of their presence in the meeting house, 
he says, " They had several sore fits in the lime of public worship, 
which did something interrupt me in my first prayer. After psalm 
was sung, Abigail Williams said to me, ' Now stand up and name 
your text ! ' And after it was read she said, ' It is a long text.' . . . 
In the beginning of the sermon, Mrs. Pope, a woman afflicted, said to 
me, ' Now there is enough of that.' ... In sermon time, when 
Goodwife C. was present in the meeting house, Abigail Williams 
called out, ' Look where Goodwife C. sits on the beam, suckling her 
yellow bird betwixt her fingers ! ' * Ann Putnam, another girl afflicted, 
said there was a yellow bird sat on my hat as it hung on the pin in the 
pulpit; but those that were by restrained her from speaking loud 
about it." 

The next day, as above observed, this Martha Cory was examined 
by the magistrates Of Salem. And from the same learned and pious 
writer, I will extract a ^ew incidents of the examination. ..." About 
twelve of the clock they went into the meeting house, which was 
thronged with spectators. Mr. Noyes began with a very pertinent 
and pathetical prayer ; and Goodwife C. being called to answer to 
what was alleged against her, she desired to go to prayer, which was 
much wondered at, in the presence of so many hundred people; the 
magistrates told her they would not admit it; they came not to hear 



* The meeting houses of* those days had few of the comforts of modern structures, and none 
of their elegancies. The ponderous rafters and beams were open to view, the floors were 
without pews, and supplied with rude uncomfortable seats, except that here and there a vene- 
rable dame or sire occupied a chair. Fires, in the coldest weather, were not dreamed of; and 
it was considered a ju>t cause of complaint if the minister did not occupy at least two hours 
in the services— their faith kept them warm. And the worshipers not unfrequently came 
from distances of six or eight m iles. 



16 

her pray, but to examine her, in what was alleged against her." * The 
afflicted ones present " vehemently accused her, in the assembly, of 
afflicting them, by biting, pinching, strangling, &c. And they did in 
their fits see her likeness corning to them, and bringing a book to 
them; she said she had no book ; they affirmed that she had a yellow 
bird, that used lo suck betwixt her fingers, ancf being asked about it, 
if she had any familiar spirit, that attended her, she said she had no 

familiarity, with any such thing The said C. said they were 

poor distracted children, and no heed to be given to what they said. 
Mr. Hathorne and Mr. Noyes replied that it was the judgment of all 
that were present, they were bewitched, and only she the accused per- 
son said i hey were destracted. It was observed several times, that if 
she did but bite her under lip in time of examination, the persons 
afflicted were bitten on their arms and wrists, and produced the marks 
before the magistrates and others. And being watched for that, if she 
did but pinch her fingers, or grasp one hand hard in another, they 
were pinched and produced the marks before the magistrates and 
spectators. After that it was observed tlrat if she did but lean her 
breast against the seat in the meeting house, (being the bar at which 
she stood,) they were afflicted. Particularly Mrs. Pope complained of 
grievous torment in her bowels as if they were torn out. She vehe- 
mently accused the said C. as the instrument, and first threw her muff 
at her; but that flying not home, she got her shoe and hit Goodwife 
C. on the head with it. After these postures were watched, if the 
said C. did but stir her feet, they were afflicted in their feet, and 
.stamped fearfully. . . . They accused her of having familiarity with 
the devil in the time of examination, in the shape of a black man 
whispering in her ear." 

Who can fail to perceive that in this scene at the meeting house, 
there was something extraordinary ? Mrs. Pope and the other afflicted 
ones were evidently acting from some strong, some overpowering 
mental impulse. And it is equally evident that the presence of the 
unfortunate Mrs. Cory excited them to an astonishing degree. Well, 
then, in this you have the operation of witchcraft — witchcraft, a 
creature of the mind. And in their dreadful mental excitement, while 



*This was exceedingly cruel. A poor lonely woman dragged into an excited, an almost in- 
furiated assembly, charged with a most diabolic:;] crime, and adjudged beforehand, guilty co 
the last extremity, begging, while deserted by every earthly friend, the consolation of pouring 
out her heart's agony to him who is the friend and stay of the disconsolate, and asking of him. 
that measure of grace which she keenly felt would be required to sustain her in the fiery ordeal 
through -which she was about to pass— and being denied, even with a sneer ! 



17 

Mrs. C. was not in their presence, we can well conceive they might 
fancy they saw her spectre. But of spectral appearances I shall have 
something to say hereafter. The power of Mrs. Cory seems to have 
been fully equal to that of the best mesmeriser of modern days. All 
these mental operations may be called imagination. But they cer- 
tainly brought about most terrible realities. Many people seem to 
think that there .cannot be any thing real, in extraordinary mental 
manifestations. Perhaps they would be profitably employed, for a 
time, in attempting to define imagination, and to stake out bounds for 
it. But when folks come to tell about the devil's going round with a 
memorandum book under his arm, to get people to sign off their 
claims to heaven, matters of the material world, which we can com- 
prehend, are brought in play, and we have a right to denounce them 
as delusion or something worse. And the sucking yellow bird, marks 
of teeth, &.c» were fancies, of course. 

These transactions at the meeting house did not take place before 
a" congregation of infants. The aged, the grave, the pious, the learn- 
ed, were there. And with sorrow and alarm they felt the deplorable 
reality. The account itself is from one who filled the honorable sta- 
tion of president of Harvard college. 

But let us turn our attention for a moment particularly to the chil- 
dren. Mrs. Cory said they were " poor distracted children ; " and no 
doubt she was right. And so were Mr. Noyes and Mr. Hathorne, 
when they said they were bewitched. Just look over the whole history 
of their affliction, from the beginning. It is extremely difficult for 
me to believe, with people much wiser than myself, that they were 
acting from mere caprice, from wantonness or waggery. It is not 
easy to reconcile the idea with their youth and the attendant circum- 
stances. It requires very elastic reasoning powers to account for such 
extraordinary ability for the arts of deception, so suddenly exhibited; 
and such conduct in hitherto dutiful and circumspect children, before 
weeping parents, grave magistrates and ministers; and a curious and 
scrutinizing populace. If they were all the time deceiving, they must 
have acted their part most excellently well, to have excited no suspi- 
cion. In casting about for means to account for such conduct, on 
the ground of deception, some have fixed upon the supposition that 
these girls had an antipathy against one or two old women and took 
these means for venting their malice. That is, they pretended to be 
bewitched for the purpose of having these old women punished as 
witches. This would answer some purpose were it not for the unfor- 
3 



18 

tunate but stubborn fact that the children did not, in the beginning's, 
charge any one with having bewitched them ! They did not suggest 
such a thing as that they were bewitched, until the physicians had de- 
cided the matter for them. This is made certain by the record still 
open to observation on the church book, in Mr. Parris's own hand 
writing; and which is quoted at large in the note on page 13; a sen- 
tence of which it may be well here to repeat : " It is well known that 
when these calamities first began, which was in my own family, the 
affliction was several weeks' before such hellish operations as witch- 
craft was suspected" It is evident, let me repeat, that these children 
acted from some violent, uncontrollable mental impulse — an impulse 
which may have arisen from some slight cause. And when the idea 
of witchcraft was suggested, it became fixed and moulded into most 
terrific shapes. We have little space to allow for details. And as the 
safest way of conveying an idea of the occurrences, we will introduce 
a passage or two from Mather's Magnalia, a work of great value and 
evidencing the inexhaustible learning, and patient research of the 
author — his piety and penetration of mind, as well as his generous- 
share of conceit. 

The tormentors tendered unto the afflicted a book requiring them to sign it, 
or to touch it at least, in token of their consenting to be listed in the service 
of the devil ; which they refusing to do, the spectres under the command of 
that black man, as they called him, would apply themselves to torture them 
with prodigious molestations. 

The afflicted wretches were horribly distorted and convulsed ; they were 
pinched black and blue ; pins would be run every where in their flesh ; they 
would be scalded until they had blisters raised on them ; and a thousand other 
things, before hundreds of witnesses, were done unto them, evidently preter- 
natural ; for if it were perternatural to keep a rigid fast for nine, yea, for fifteen 
days together; or if it were preternatural to have one's hands tied close to- 
gether with a rope to be plainly seen, and then by unseen hands presently- 
pulled up a great way from the earth, before a crowd of people ; such preter- 
natural things were endured by them. 

But of all the preternatural things which these people suffered, there were 
none more unaccountable than those wherein the prestigious demons would 
every now and then cover the most corporeal things in the world with a fascin- 
ating mist of invisibility. As now, a person was cruelly assaulted by a spectre, 
that she said came at her with a spindle, though nobody else in the room 
could see either the spectre or the spindle ; at last, in her agonies, giving a 
snatch at the spectre, she pulled the spindle away ; and it was no sooner got 
into her hand, but the other folks then present beheld that it was indeed a real, 
proper, iron spindle ; which when they locked up very safe, it was, neverthe- 
less, by the demons taken away to do farther mischief. 

Again, a person was haunted by a most abusive spectre, which came to her, 
she said, with a sheet about her, though seen to none but herself. After she 
had undergone a deal of teaze from the annoyance of the spectre, she gave a 
violent snatch at the sheet that was upon it ; wherefrom she tore a corner, 
which in her hand immediately was beheld by all that were present, a palpa- 
ble corner of a sheet: and her father, which was of her, catched, that be 



19 

might see what his daughter had so strangely seized; but the spectre had 
like to have wrung his hand off, by endeavoring to wrest it from him ; how- 
ever he still held it; and several times this odd accident was renewed in the 
family. There wanted not the oaths of good creditable people to these par- 
ticulars. 

Also it is known, that these wicked spectres did proceed so far as to steal 
several quantities of money from divers people, part of which individual 
money dropt sometimes out of the air, before sufficient spectators, into the 
hands of the afflicted, while the spectres were urging them to subscribe their 
covenant with death. Moreover, poisons to the standersby wholly invisible, 
were sometimes forced upon the afflicted; which, when they have with much 
reluctancy swallowed, they have swoln presently, so that the common medi- 
cines for poisons have been found necessary to relieve them ; yea, sometimes 
the spectres in the struggles have so dropt the poisons, that the standersby 
have smelt them and viewed them, and beheld the pillows of the miserable 
stained with them. Yet more, the miserable have complained bitterly of burn- 
ing rags run into their forcibly distended mouths ; and though nobody could 
see any such cloths, or indeed any fires in the chambers, yet presently the 
scalds were seen plainly by every body on the mouths of the complainers, and 
not only the smell, but the smoke of the burning sensibly filled the chambers. 

Once more the miserable exclaimed extremely of branding irons, heating 
at the fire on the hearth to mark them ; now the standersby could see no 
irons, yet they could see distinctly the print of them in the ashes, and smell 
them too, as they were carried by the not-seen furies unto the poor creatures 
for whom they were intended ; and those poor creatures were thereupon so 
stigmatized with them, that they will bear the marks of them to their dying 
day. Nor are these the tenth part of the prodigies that fell out among the in- 
habitants of New England. 

It was also found that the flesh of the afflicted was often bitten at such a 
rate, that not only the print of the teeth would be left on their flesh, but the 
very slaver of spittle too, even such as might be clearly distinguished from 
other people's. And usually the afflicted went through a terrible deal of seem- 
ing difficulties from the tormenting spectres, and must be long waited on, be- 
fore they could get a breathing space from their torments to give in their 
testimony. 

There were, it is true, some men of taJent, piety and learning, who 
during the darkest, hours of the excitement, continued to maintain 
that the whole was a delusion ; continued vehemently to inveigh 
against the sanguinary proceedings. Col. Saltonstall, one of the 
judges of the court, early withdrew, and always opposed the proceed- 
ings. But this did not prove him wiser than his neighbors. It only 
proved him more skeptical, less susceptible. If there were great men 
doubters, there were greater ones believers. 

Nor must it be supposed that the trials were mere child's play ; or 
that the condemnations took place without what was deemed sufficient 
evidence. A uthors of that period speak particularly on this point, and 
assert that some of the most judicious and vehement opposers, publicly 
declared, that had they themselves been on the jury, they could not 
have acquitted the prisoners ! " Flashy people," quaintly observes 
Mather, " may burlesque these things, but when hundreds of the most 
jBober people, in a country where lhey have as much mother wit cer* 



20 

tainly as the rest of mankind, hiow them to be true, nothing but the 
absurd and froward spirit of saducism can question then)." 

" There was one," says he, " whose magical images were found, and 
who confessing her deeds, (when a jury of doctors returned her com- 
pos mentis,) actually showed the whole court by what ceremonies used 
Unto them, she directed her familiar spirits how and where to cruciate 
the objects of her malice ; and the experiment being made over and 
over again before the whole court, the effect followed exactly in the 
hurts done to the people at a distance from her." 

The seeing of spectres seems easily explained.* It originates in 
strong mental conceptions. At the time to which our narrative re- 
lates, it was firmly believed that people were vexed and tormented by 
spiritual visitants. The impression was so very strong as to render 
such visitants frequently visible, so to speak, to the mental eye — a 
mere result of that firm belief. I will state a little fact in illustration 
of the idea. A young female relative of mine, was betrothed to a 
youthful mariner. She was a girl of very suscepiible feelings ; her at- 
tachment was ardent, had been of long continuance, and was fondly 
reciprocated. During his last voyage, she had a singularly strong 
impression that he would never return. The presentiment weighed so 
heavily upon her spirits, as to excite the concern of her friends. One 
stormy night, while the family were absent, she was sitting alone in 
the parlor, listening to the howling of the winds and the beating of the 
rain ; and as may well be imagined, not unfrequently entertaining a 
thought of her far-off lover. She thus sat, in silence, till near mid- 
night. All of a sudden, on looking up, she beheld her affianced, 
standing beside her, with a countenance deadly pale, and with the 
water dripping from his cloihes. She was for a moment bewildered, 
though not frightened. She essayed to speak, but he vanished too 
suddenly. To this day, she insists that it was not a dream, that she 
was fully awake; but admits that she had been long and anxiously 
thinking of him. It is evident that the spectre originated in her ex- 
cited mind. He, however, did meet his death, by drowning, at the 
precise time of the appearance, as near as could be ascertained, on 



*The lecturer, while attempting to explain the philosophy of spectral appearances, would 
not be understood to deny that miraculous agency has sometimes been employed to recall the 
dead. It is certainly a no greater exhibition of power to recall than to create. And that the 
power has been thus exercised, in past ages, at least, we must not doubt. The story of the 
Witch of Endor, spoken of in the note on page 8, is to the purpose. But the ghost-seeing me- 
dia of modern times, it is apprehended, may be explained on natural principles. 



21 

the arrival of the ship. And though that was merely a coincidence, 
nothing could shake her belief that he came to the fond object of his 
affection, with the tidings of his own departure. 

When the mind is thus prepared, very slight things will operate as 
powerful evidence. Prints of branding irons could easily be seen in ash- 
es, prints of teeth and blisters upon flesh, and all things of a like nature. 
But it is not so easy to account for iron spindles, ropes, pins or pieces 
of sheet, being actually retained in possession of those who seized 
them. We are justified in supposing that some roguery was carried 
on here. The minds of people were prepared to believe the most ab- 
surd things, and to be imposed upon with marvellous facility. Impo- 
sitions, indeed, were frequently detected and exposed. And this is 
further evidence that our ancestors were not so perfectly blind as some 
seem to think. The work to which such frequent reference has been 
made, has this passage : " In fine, the last courts that sate upon this 
thorny business, finding that it was impossible to penetrate into the 
whole meaning of the things that had happened, and that so many un- 
searchable cheats were interwoven into the conclusion of a mysterious 
business, which perhaps had not crept thereinto at the beginning of it, 
they cleared the accused as fast as they tried them." 

These strong impressions may sometimes seize upon the mind at 
the suggestion of some most natural appearance, and as instantly be dis- 
pelled, at the suggestion of reason. One very dark night, at about 
twelve o'clock, a friend of mine was walking along a desolate road, 
through a swampy piece of woods, and all at once observed, gliding 
close by his side, apparently a person about his own size, clothed in shiny 
white. Though the object kept pace, and performed the usual motions 
of a person walking, it was noiseless. Although a little startled at first, 
his better judgment immediately suggested that it was not a real exist- 
ence. With his walking stick he struck at it, but only beat the air. 
He paused, and that likewise paused. Taking two or three steps in 
a sideling direction, he found himself on the brink of a gully, and at 
once discovered the cause of the illusion. The heavy clouds were 
just lifting in the western horizon, and a faint light fell upon the water 
in the gully — just enough to give it a silvery tinge. On this mirror 
his dark shadow fell, though the impression on his mind was as if the 
shadow were of a silvery hue, moving on a dark ground. Such was 
the spectre ; and as real a one probably as any person living has seen. 
But these impressions may obtain such an ascendancy, under some 
circumstances, over the judgment of an individual or a community, as 



22 

even to make natural phenomena and fact yield to them — be seconda- 
ry and subservient. Such precisely was the case in the memorable 
year 1G92. The received impression was that legions of emissaries of 
the evil one had been let loose upon ihis devoted community, and 
that in many cases the people "had their eyes so refined" that they 
could perceive these at times invisible tormentors. And every thing 
was bent and twisted till it supported that belief. Whatever fact was 
too inflexible to be perverted, was at once denounced as unscriptural, 
saducean. Just as one among us would argue: The Bible teaches 
this or that doctrine. The Bible is true. Hence, if any thing is ad- 
vanced contrary to this or that doctrine, it cannot be true, however 
plausible it may seem. 

One beautiful spring morning, T was walking in an orchard, with a 
gentleman from one of the remote Swiss cantons, where a belief in 
fairy visitations still prevails. He was much less delighted at the 
prospect of a profusion of fruit, than at the presence of the gay com- 
pany of fairies. And he became quite angry on my insisting that I 
could not see the lovely creatures which to him were so perceptible, 
sporting among the blossoms. He saw them clearly through his men- 
tal vision. 

It is really amusing to see how the mind, under these impressions, 
will sometimes grapple with physical impossibilities. 

How is it about those devils which visited you the other day? said 
I to a neighbor. 

I don't want to say any thing about them. People don't believe 
me; and the truth is good for nothing if it isn't believed, he replied. 

What did they resemble? 

They were as large as gray squirrels; striped with yellow and red; 
and had white wings. 

How many were there? 

About two dozen. 

Where did they come from? 

They jumped out of the coffee pot, while my wife and myself were 
sitting at breakfast. 

How much will your coffee pot hold? 

About two quarts. 

Now, Mr. S., do you not perceive the utter impossibility in the way 
of the truth of your story? How could two dozens of gray squirrels 
get into a two quart coffee pot ? 

That is the very thing that J told my wife, at the time, puzzled me 



23 



most. And what was most remarkable, they came out of the nose. 
But I'm ready to take my oath that it is true. It 's of no use to 
reason against the senses. 

The fact was, the man had the delirium tremens. And in reading 
over the recorded evidence on some of the witch trials, I am strongly 
inclined to the belief that some of the witnesses had been familiar 
with strong water bottles.* 

Natural phenomena, were always regarded in the light of super- 
natural signs. The story of the Phantom Ship is familiar to every 
one.f The nightly howlings of the wild beasts in the woods, were 
unceremoniously charged upon his satanic mnjesty. And every de- 
partment of nature was forced to furnish evidence in support of the 
one dreadful idea. 



*One oftlie persons executed at Salem was Susanna Martin, of Amesbury. And it is really 
sad to see what evidence was received against her. The poor woman had become vexed atone 
Kembel, on account of his having purchased a puppy of some one else, after having agreed to 
purchase of her, and declared that if she lived, she would give him puppies enough. The wit- 
ness thus testifies : " Within a few days after this, Kembel coming out of the woods, there 
arose a little black cloud in the northwest, and Kembel immediately felt a force upon him, 
which made him not able to avoid running upon the stumps of trees that were before hirn, al- 
though he had a broad plain cartway before him ; but though he had his axe on his shoulder to 
endanger him in his falls, he could not forbear going out of his way to tumble over them. 
When he came below the meeting house, there appeared to him a little thing like a puppy of a 
darkish color, and it shot backwards and forwards between his legs. He had the courage to 
use all possible endeavors to cut it with his axe, but he could not hit it; the puppy gave a jump 
from him, and went, as to him it seemed, into the ground," &c. &.c. 

■{•The appearance of the Phantom Ship, at New Haven, in 1647, occasioned a great sensation, 
throughout New England. Probably some vessel was passing up Long Island Sound, and the 
phantom arose from atmospheric refraction. This kind of mirage is thus accurately illustrated 
by Alonzo Lewis, in his excellent history of Lynn : 




Mr. Lewis remarks : "Ona pleasant Sunday afternoon, in the summer of 1843, I saw several 
vessels sailing off Nahant, reflected in the manner represented above. The atmosphere was 
dense, yet transparent, and there were several strata of thin vapory clouds lightly suspended 
over the water, on which the vessels were brightly mirrored. The refracted images were as 
clearly portrayed as the real Vessels beneath ; and a drawing can but imperfectly represent the 
exceeding beauty of the mirage." 



24 

It is melancholy, it is horrible, to see how evidence was sometimes 
distorted to prove the guilt of the accused. In some cases the testi- 
mony was such as a jury might convict upon ; but in others, it was so 
palpably absurd, or bore such evident marks of malevolence or wag- 
gery, that we may well be astonished that it was for a moment listened 
to by those claiming to possess common sense. 

Another fact must not be lost sight of. Those charged — or cried 
out against — as the phrase was, not unfrequently confessed themselves 
guilty. The very first person charged did this. And well might such 
confessions aid the progress of the whirlwind. How do we account 
for this ? Some tell us that the confessions were wrung from them 
by threatened torture, or elicited by promises of release or pardon. 
But it is not true that this was always the case. No less than fifty- 
five persons, some of them having through life sustained good charac- 
ters, confessed themselves guilty of this most diabolical crime. The 
reason is as clear as daylight. They were laboring under the same 
impressions that weighed upon ail the rest of the community. They 
did not trust at all to their own judgment ; but gave credence to the 
evidence that was adduced against them. Their case may be illustra- 
ted by that of the artless countryman, who, after listening to the law- 
yer who was vehemently pleading against him, rushed before the court 
with the most inexpressible horror depicted on his countenance, ex- 
claiming in frenzy, "Take me off, take me off to prison ; 1 find I de- 
serve it, though I thought till now, that I was innocent as a child ! " * 

And we must not neglect to refer to the recantations. Many of the 
most zealous prosecutors and persecutors, afterwards— when the spell 
was broken — recanted, and in dust and tears mourned over their er- 



* Confessions are, in courts of justice, received with caution. And, when possible, the state 
of mind under which the person confessing acts, is accurately ascertained. Men's hopes of 
fears are sometimes so wrought upon that they may easily be led to declare themselves guilty 
of crimes which they never committed. And the actual belief of guilt is often engendered and 
firmly fixed. Yet, frank, free, and unbiased confessions should be considered strong evidence} 
for it is not to be presumed that a man will sacrifice his safety or reputation, by denouncing 
himself as a criminal, while he is innocent. It is also sometimes found that a limid, apprehen- 
sive, and injudicious person will resort to such means to show himself innocent as prove strong 
evidence of his guilt. Lord Hale mentions a sad instance. A young woman was heard to cry 
out, " Good uncle, do not kill me ! " The next day, she was not to be found. She was wealthy, 
and her uncle was naturally suspected of having made way with her. To prove his innocence, 
he was required to produce her. This he could not do, for she had absconded. He knew a 
girl, very much resembling his niece, and strange as it may seem, hoped to remove suspicion by 
producing her. The cheat was detected, and of course taken as all but positive evidence 
of his guilt, lie was executed for the supposed murder. But his niece was afterward found to 
be living. 



25 

irors. But on examination it will be found that they, in their deepest 
sorrow, assert that they were sincere— that they verily thought they 
were doing God service. Mr. Parris himself, made a sort of half- 
way recantation. The jury who sat on the cases at Salem Village, 
put forth a recantation, in which they most touchingly refer to their 
acts; most humbly asking forgiveness of all those living, whom they 
had by their decisions injured, and expressing a.hope and confidence 
that Heaven would forgive them, as they acted, as they fully believed, 
in the way of duty. Nobody doubts their sincerity. But those same 
minds might have run into some other extreme, on some other occa- 
sion. Mather, however, who was one of the most zealous of the zeal- 
ots, disposes of the matter easily. He thought it did much to advance 
the cause of religion. After speaking of various ways in which it 
promoted the cause of holiness, he continues: "Some scores of other 
younjr people, who were strangers to real piety, were now struck with 
the lively demonstrations of hell evidently set forth before their eyes, 
when they saw persons cruelly frightened, wounded, and starved, by 
devils, and scalded by burning brimstone; and yet so preserved in this 
tortured state, as that, at the end of one month's wretchedness, they 
were as able still to undergo another. In the whole the devil got just 
nothing; but God got praises, Christ got subjects, the Holy Spirit got 
temples, the church got additions, and the souls of men got everlasting 
benefits." This view was certainly conscience-easing. 

But to return, for a moment, to the dreadful scenes of 1692. It 
would be difficult for us to conceive of the horrors of that period. 
Every one stood aghast. It was the general belief that our heavenly 
father had given up this devoted community to the ravages of the 
arch enemy. The accusations did not rest upon the miserable and 
decrepit outcasts alone ; but some of the worthiest and wisest were 
charged with the fell crime. The demon entered the domestic circle. 
Drops of blood stained the hearth stone. The eye balls of fiends 
glared upon the sleeping infant. The distressed parent was dragged 
to prison on the accusation of the afflicted child. And the child was 
led from the play ground to the stern bar of justice, on the fearful ac- 
cusation of the parent. The whole community was in mourning. It 
was truly the reign of terror. No one was safe from the presenta- 
tion of a warrant of arrest. And such evidence was received, and 
all so distorted to work conviction, that an arrest was almost equiva- 
lent to a death warrant. The number of persons hung at Salem, was 
nineteen. One aged man was pressed to death. Eight or nine were 
4 



26' 

Condemned to death, but not executed. A hundred and fifty were* 
imprisoned, and two hundred others accused. And poor Salem lost 
about a third part of her population, by removal and otherwise. 

My own humble opinion of the matter, has probably been made 
sufficiently clear. In common speech we say witchcraft was a 
delusion ; but yet there was a reality in the mental action from which 
the wild proceedings arose. What is the mesmerism of modern days? 
Is there no reality in the manifestations which many wise ones now 
admit take place through that agency ? Indeed 1 have heard advo- 
cates of this system assert that the power of those deemed witches 
consisted in mesmeric influence.* 

But the dreadful spell was broken. The minds of the people un- 
derwent a reaction — took a new course. Then were lamentations 
heard in the streets, for errors committed. And penitential teurs 
gushed forth. It is a sad subject, but discloses an important phase of 
human nature. In almost every age there is an eruption from the same 



* Our friends, the advocates of mesmerism, will not allow us to doubt that things of as won- 
derful a nature as aught that appears in the whole history of witchcraft, may take place any 
day. How much truth there is in mesmerism, who is able to decide ? I apprehend, its phe- 
nomena may be accounted for in the same manner that the developments of witchcraft may 
be explained. The reality consists in strong, overpowering, mental conceptions. I very 
Well remember hearing the pioneer of mesmerism in this country, declare that if one could not 
be made to believe in the science, he could not be made to feel its effects. There is the whole 
secret. Just induce one firmly to believe that you have power to put him into that pesu liar 
state, and he straightway passes into it, a* the mere result of that firm belief. Just make one 
firmly believe that you can bewitch him, and he is in your power, for that purpose. These 
things show the ruling power which the mind has, over the body. It indeed shows the op- 
eration of failh. And the bold figurative assertion of scripture, that faith can remove moun- 
tains, is fully sustained. The fact is, there are marvellous truths, both in the world of mind, 
and the world of matter, and the wholesale rejection of the one class or the other, without ex- 
amination, does not, certainly, evince the highest attainment in wisdom. Matters pertaining 
to the immaterial world, however, in this utilitarian age, are generally subjected to the rough- 
est treatment. How often do we hear this or that proposition denounced as not being in ac- 
cordance with the laws of mind. He must be wise indeed who is sufficiently conversant with 
those laws, to be always correct in such denunciations. It may, in truth be absurd, in his beg- 
garly conception. No created existence has power to comprehend itself. Matter cannot com- 
prehendmatter, nor mind, mind. The latter, however, can* comprehend the former, for it is 
superior to it; and conclusive evidence of that superiority is exhibited in this fact itself. And 
then, as mind is the highest of all created existences, it follows that it can be comprehended 
only by Deity. We are therefore totally incompetent to set bounds for its powers and mani- 
festations. Then there is the matter of spiritual intercourse. They who reject the idea of an 
intercourse between spirit, even while it exists in the body, and spirit which has no bodily 
form, reject the plainly revealed word of God. The laws which regulate that intercourse may 
never be defined ; but this is no proof of their non-existence. Why are we commanded to 
pray? A man who disbelieves in all connection between ourselves and the spiritual world, 
does not certainly act with the most perfect consistency, to offer up prayer. Indeed, what is 
argument, or persuasion, but the attempt of one mind to induce sympathetic action in another 
mind? 



27 

crater, though perhaps the hot lava is of different consistency. It is 
often profitable to trace the progress of these eruptions in the body 
politic. Sometimes it is slow, almost imperceptible; and sometimes 
it is like the raging of the prairie fire. Glance, for instance, at the 
infidelity of France ; watch the workings of the sweet poison thrown 
into the body politic in the first half of the eighteenth century; see 
how like a subtle disease it fixed upon the vitals ; how, by cunning and 
varied appliances, it ultimately reached every class, circulated in every 
vein ; and how, finally, urged on by calm, inflexible energy like that 
of a Buffon or a Condillac ; by ail. ements like those of a Voltaire or 
a Rosseau ; by daring, ferocious impiety, like that of a Diderot, it 
burst fortfa in such a whirlwind as overwhelmed with fierce destruc- 
tion, peace on earth, trust and hope in heaven. Then were the lovely 
banks of the Loire made pestilent by the dissolving remains, and the 
waters made red and warm by the gushing blood of innocence. Then 
the ghosts of the betrayed and sacrificed wandered among the smoul- 
dering ruins of fallen temples and altars, and wept for desecrated 
household fanes. ■ And this was just one century after the distractions 
in New England. But people do not think witchcraft had any thing 
to do with thus tearing out the very bowels of France; yet, was there 
not something quite as dreadful and quite as unaccountable? 

The days of witchcraft, we trust, have passed. Our progress in re- 
finement, in the arts of life, in scienoe, has opened new regions into 
which the mind may soar for exercise and profit. But yet, if that be- 
lief is the legitimate offspring of a principle of our nature, the root 
from which it sprang remains. And what can assure us that in some 
age to come it may not again spread aloft its baleful shadow? There 
is, however, no danger of a return of the murky cloud upon New 
England, while the views of the people remain as they are. But are 
there no views now prevalent as strange, and as much to be dreaded, 
in their full development, as those of 1692 ? 



A Witch of the 15th Century.— Spencer. 

There in a gloomy hollow glen she found 
A little cottage built of sticks and weedes, 
In homely wise, and wald with sods around 
Jn which a witch did dwell, in loathly weedes ; 
And wilful want, all careless of her needes ; 
So choosing solitarie to abide 
Far from all neighbors, that her devilish deedes 
And hellish arts from people she might hide, 
And hurt far oft' unknown whomever she en- 
vide. 



A Witch of the 19th Century.— Whittier. 

Our witches are no longer old, 

And wrinkled beldames, satan-sold ; 

But young, and gay, and laughing creatures. 

With the heart's sunshine on their features — 

Their sorcery — the light which dances 

When the raised lid unveils its glances ; 

And the low breafhed and gentle tone 

Faintly responding unto ours, 
Soft, dream-like as a fairy's moan, 

Above its nightly closing flowers. 




PART III. 



Other Species of Witchcraft. Charms. Amulets, tyc. 

ET us entertain whatever views we may, in regard tQ 
spectral appearances and many other matters per-* 
taining to our subject, we ought not to lose sight of 
the fact that sometimes those said to have been be- 
witched, were found to suffer from the effects of dis- 
ease, and to pine away and die in accordance with 
the maledictions of those vyho it was alleged bewitched them. The 
effects here, were real, whatever may have been the, came. We may 
call the cause imagination — and perhaps that is a proper term — bui 
the effects were very far from being imaginary. The mind has an 
effect upon the body, such as we are not accustomed duly to recog- 
nise; ancf an impression made up*on the mental portion of our nature, 
may seriously affect the physical organization. Disease and death 
frequently follow from the operation of the mind. We should remem- 
ber that the mind is master of the body. How clearly is this shown 
in the awful crime of suicide. Here, the mind wills the destruction 
of the body, and severe as the agony is, that body cannot resist. Skill- 
ful and cunning mental appliances often exhibit results, astonishing to 
the unbelieving or unreflecting. 

As a familiar example, I would refer to the story of the. farmer 
of \Varvyickshire, told by Darwin, and so touchingly versified by 
Wordsworth, under the title of Goody Blake and Harry Gill. And 
the story, by the way is well authenticated. During a winter season, 
this unfeeling young man discovered that sticks had been purloined 
from his hedges. So one cold night, he concealed himself near where 
the trespass had been committed, and remained watching till near mid- 
night, when an old woman made her appearance and began to collect 
a bundle of sticks. He remained undiscovered till she had proceeded so 
far as to enable him to convict her of theft, and then sprang upon her : 



29 

'* And fiercely by the arm he took her, 

And by the arm he held her fast, 
And fiercely by the arm he shook her, 

And cried, ' I 've caught you then at last ! ' 

Then Goody, who had nothing- said, 
Her bundle from her lap let fall ; 
, And kneeling on the sticks, she pray'd, 

To God that is the judge of all. 

She pray'd, her wither'd hand uprearing, 

While Harry held her by the arm — 
.* God ! who art never out of hearing, 

O may he never more be warm ! ' 

The cold, cold moon above her head, 

Thus on her knees did Goody pray ; 
Young Harry heard what she had said, 

And icy cold, he turned away." 

He was immediately seized with such chills as set his teeth to chatter* 
ing. The next day, he was so very cold that he was obliged to put on 
additional garments; but all his efforts could not restore him to 
warmth. He was finally obliged to take to his bed, which he kept for 
twenty years, shivering beneath an enormous quantity of blankets, 
when death released him from his suffering. Here, it is evident, the 
solemnity and fervor of the old woman's prayer, offered under such 
impressive circumstances, instantly awakened, in a perhaps naturally 
apprehensive mind, an overwhelming conviction that it would be 
answered. And it was literally answered through the operation of his 
own mind. 

That the mind has great effect in removing or producing disease 
cannot be doubted. Miller, a German physician of some note, ob- 
serves ; "The influence of ideas upon the body, gives rise to a variety 
of phenomena which border on the marvellous. It may be stated as a 
general fact, that any state of the body, which is conceived to be ap- 
proaching, and which is expected with perfect confidence and certain- 
ty of its occurrence, will be very prone to ensue, as the mere result of 
that idea, if it do not lie without the bounds of possibility." 

During the prevalence of the cholera in France, in 1832, a number 
of experiments were tried by the physicians to discover if possible the 
extent of this influence of the mind upon the body in relation to dis- 
eases. This was one of the experiments: A healthy criminal in a 
prison was removed from one cell into another ; and though no one 
having the cholera, had ever been in the prison, a physician remarked 
in the hearing of the criminal that he hoped the poor fellow would not 
$ie of the cholera, as they had just removed from the cell into which 



30 

they were placing him, the corpse of a man who had died of that ter- 
rible disease. The next day, the man was found dead, and what was 
most remarkable, it was evident that he had died of the cholera. This 
was the first case that had appeared in the prison. 

I very well remember that when quite a lad, with two or three school 
fellows I went to an elderly lady who had a high reputation for curing 
warts, by charms. She received us kindly, and simply asked each of 
us how many warts we had. We told her. She then assured us that 
id three weeks they would all be gone. And her assurance was veri- 
fied. The implicit faith we had in her power undoubtedly put in 'ac- 
tion that portion of the physical machinery which removed, by absorp- 
tion, the excrescencies. 

Few, probably, will doubt these things. And the position taken, is 
strongly fortified by the following extract from one of Dr. Warren's 
medical lectures of 1832. " Sometime since," observed that eminent 
practitioner, " a female friend presented herself to me, with a tumor 
or swelling of the submaxillary gland of the neck, which had become 
what is called a wen. It was about the size of an egg, had lasted two 
years, and was so very hard, that I considered any attempt to dissipate 
it by medicine to be vain, and advised its removal by operation. To 
this the patient could not bring her mind ; therefore, to satisfy her 
wish, I directed some applications of considerable activity to be made 
to the part, and these she pursued for a number of weeks, without any 
change. After this she called on me, and with some hesitation begged 
to know whether an application recommended to her, would in my 
opinion be safe. This consisted in applying the hand of a dead man 
three times to the diseased part. One of her neighbors now lay dead, 
and she had an opportunity of trying the experiment, if I thought it not 
dangerous. At first I was disposed to divert her from it; but recollect- 
ing the power of the imagination, I gravely assured her she might make 
the trial without apprehension of serious consequences. Awhile after, 
she presented herself once more, and with a smiling countenance inform- 
ed me that she had used this remedy, and on examining for the tumor, 
I found it had disappeared." 

There is no doubt that pains, particularly those of a nervous char- 
acter, are often removed by these to some people singular appliances. 
All requisite to charm away a pain in many cases is to fully convince 
the one on whom you would operate that you have power to relieve 
him. This faith is marvellous in its results. It is the miraculous 
power claimed by some bodies of christians. I was not long ago con- 



31 

versing with an Elder who vehemently and sincerely maintained that 
he could establish the authenticity of his doctrines by miraculous ex- 
hibitions. I asked him what he could do. He said he could heal dis- 
eases. Well, said I, please to cure that man's head. 1 can, if he has 
faith. But can you not do it without his having faith in your power? 
Certainly not, he replied— and quoted some scripture which did not 
seem applicable. Now this showed that the power was not miracu- 
lous. A miracle, properly, is a 'contravention of some law of nature; 
and hence faith is not a prerequisite. It is, for instance, a miracle to 
change water into wine, for the water cannot exercise faith. If this 
distinction were kept in mind, great errors would be avoided by many 
very good christian people. 

This power of the mind, or imagination, if people think proper so to 
call it, in curing diseases or aggravating them, is so great that all 
medical men know that where a patient firmly believes he must die, 
there is little hope of saving him. And on the other hand, the pro- 
gress of restoration to health is greatly accelerated by faith in the 
means employed. 

The eminent Mr. Boyle says that at one time he was very subject 
to the nose bleed, and after using several remedies, he found the moss- 
of a dead man's skull the most effectual. And he speaks of amulets 
as often efficacious — the effluvia pervading the pores of the body — « 
supposing " an agreement between the pores of the skin, and the fig- 
ure of the corpuscles." * 

Every body knows, however, that intelligent physicians have a thou- 
sand difficulties to contend with arising from prejudice and downright 
superstition. And they are often obliged to conceal their better 
knowledge and fall in with the whims of people. Formerly, the belief 
extensively prevailed that a remedy should partake of the color of the 



* The following extract from a scarce work of Reginald Scot — the " Discoverie of Witchcraft " 
--will give sufficient information on the use of amulets: " An Agat (they saie) hath vertue 
against the biting of scorpions or serpents. It is written (but I will not stand to it) that it mak- 
eth a man eloquent, and procureth the favor of princes; yea that the fume thereof (loath turn 
awaie tempests ! Chelidonius is a stone taken out of a swallowe, which cureth melancholie ! 
Jlmctkysus maketh a droonlten man sober, and refresheth the wit ! The Corall pteserveth such 
as beare it, from fascination or bewitching, and in this respect they are hanged about the chil- 
dren's neckes! A Topase healeth the lunaticke person of his passion of lu'nacie ! Chalcedonius 
maketh the bearer luckie in law, quickeneth the power of the bodie, and is also of force against 
the illusion of the divell, and phantasticall cogitations! Comeolous mitigateth the heate of the 
mind, and qualifieth malice ! Iris maketh rainbows to appeare ! " And the astute author adds 
that according to " the aboundance of humane superstitions and follies " some ascribe to these 
stones other or greater powers than they possess ! 



32 

disease. A relic of that belief comes to us in the use of saffron for 
the meazles. The color of the remedy corresponds with the color of 
the disease. But saffron tea is no better for the meazles than cat- 
nip tea; yet a physician would be considered a half heretic* if he 
prescribed the latter. 

In reflecting upon these subjects we should be careful to discrimi- 
nate between those occurrences which are to be ascribed, to the op- 
eration of the mind upon the body, and those which cannot be affected 
by mental operations. Gross superstitions are exhibited in the latter 
class. Even Hippocrates urged particular studies on his son, because 
" the rising and setting of the stars have a great effect upon distem- 
pers." The plague of London, many supposed, arose from causes 
similar to the above. In a pamphlet, by W. Kemp, A. M., dedicated 
to Charles II. is this passage: "One cause of breeding the pestilence 
is that corruption of the air, which is occasioned by the influence of 
the stars, by the aspects, conjunctions, and oppositions of the planets, 
by the eclipses of the sun and moon, and by the consequences of com- 
ets." It is very important for a just apprehension of what I would 
urge, to make the distinction in classes of occurrences here referred to. 

I trust that what has been said will not be misunderstood. It would 
be doing great injustice to charge me with intimating that such oc- 
currences as some that have been instanced are common. I only un- 
dertake to say that such effects follow in the degree of faith which 
can be brought into action ; if they be not without the bounds of pos- 
sibility. Some people have no more faith than stones — and so you may 
as well try to operate on stones. Others are so susceptible that they 
will go into the mesmeric sleep at the command of another. One of 
the most interesting and profitable chapters in the history of these 
times, is that relating to quack medicines. It would be heresy to at- 
tempt to convince the world that they do not perform wonders. But, 
I apprehend the curative effects in most instances follow rather from 
the faith of the patient than from any inherent properties of the nos- 
trums. But then, if the effects really follow, the only difference seems 
to be that two cents would purchase some known and simple medicine 
to effect what twenty-five cents' worth of the patent concoctions would. 



PART IV. 



Astrology. Demonology. Fortune Telling. Moll Pitcher. Conclusion. 




STROLOGY, Demonology, Magic, Sorcery, and the 
many other systems of a hidden, mysterious nature, 
have held more or less sway in all times. Ages ago 
they were reduced to form, and ranked as sciences. 
Poetry is full of their imagery. And many an intricate 
pass in history has been illumined by the glow which they have shed. 

The dreamy light of the fascinating, I had almost said sublime, sys- 
tem of Astrology, has led to some of the lofty discoveries in astronomy. 
That system is still prevalent in oriental countries. Through its 
agency, it is believed, the fates of men may be read in the starry vol- 
ume which is nightly opened above. The earliest accounts we have 
of the human race, show that they led a pastoral life. And as they 
watched their Hocks upon the star lit plains, do we wonder that they 
should have traced out images of strength, beauty, or mystery, among 
the marshaled hosts above, or should have fancied the fates of men 
there recorded in glittering lines. Orion, the most magnificent, of all 
the celestial constellations upon which the eye of man is permitted to 
•gaze, and which at the moment I am speaking, is pursuing its stately 
march across the clear blue vault, may trace its very name to the 
old mythology. 

Demonology has in some ages formed an important part of the very 
religion of men. In the ^Eneid we have this bold description of one 
under the influence of a demon: 

" Invoke the skies, 
1 feel the God, the rushing God, she cries ; 
"While yet she spoke, enlarged her features grew ; 
Her color changed, her locks disheveled flew ; 
The heavenly tumult reigns in every part, 
Pants in her breast, and swells her rising heart; 
Still swelling to the sight the priestess glow'd, 
And heaved impatient of the incumbent God." 

But the progress of true science and purified religion has loosened 
the hold of most forms of superstition. Yet, even now, and among 
5 



34 

us, we may perceive lingering traces of these mysteries. How many 
sober business men constantly carry lucky bones or pocket pieces* 
How many regard lucky and unlucky days. How many regard the 
infinite variety of signs. In the ballad ot Cumno? Hall are touching- 
\y exhibited several superstitions of the latter class, which may well 
apply forcibly to many cases of our day. Earl Dudley, it will be re- 
membered, was suspected of having caused the death of his unfortu- 
nate cotintess, in the vain hope of obtaining the hand of his sovereign. 
Elizabeth, however, proposed him to Mary of Scots ; but she indignant 3 
ly rejected him. 

tl The death-bell thrice was heard to ring, 

An aerial voice was heard to call, 
And thrice the raven flapped his wing 

Around the towers of Cumnor Hall. 

The mastiff howled at village door, 

The oaks were shattered on the green ; 

Wo was that hour — for never more 
The hapless countess e'er was seen. 

And in that manor now no more 

Is cheerful feast and sprightly ball; 
For ever since that dreary hour 

Have spirits haunted Cumnor Hall." 

The system of fortune telling will probably prevail in ages to come.. 
The restless spirit of man will ever seek to look beyond the veil. And 
though his better judgment whispers that the hand which essays to 
draw aside the curtain is as weak as his own, his trembling hopes and 
fears beget a confidence. Says Mackenzie, "Of many who say they 
do not believe in fortune telling, I have known few on whom it had 
not a very sensible effect." How many a sturdy mariner goes stealth- 
ily to consult the crone, before embarking upon the treacherous bil- 
lows. How many a blooming maiden pursues the moonlit path to the 
habitation of the fortune teller, tremblingly to inquire if the fates have 
ordained that the concealed, but consuming love of her own gentle 
heart is to find a response in that heart where alone repose can be 
found. 

The traveler, as he pursues his way eastward from the metropolis 
of Massachusetts, may observe an abrupt, rocky elevation, upon the 
left, a furlong or two, from the second railroad depot in Lynn. This 
elevation is called High Rock, and the view from it is perhaps as 
expansive, varied and magnificent, as from any spot in all New Eng- 
land. The broad expanse of the Bay, boundless to the vision, save 
that under the clearest sky the dim outline of Cape Cod is percepti- 



35 

tale ; trfe many lovely islands lying about the entrance to the spacious 
harbor of Boston, with the countless vessels moving among them ; 
the bold cliffs of Nahant, and the rocky headlands against whidh the 
surly waves constantly dash, and then foam and roll away in spent fury 
upon the worn pebbles and glittering sands of the coves and beaches ; 
the spires and indistinct architectural piles of the city, with the blue, 
hills of Norfolk beyond ; the wide-spread and populous town of 
Lynn, occupying the broad plain which stretches from the bold ram- 
part of woody hills upon the north ) the detached habitations, scattered 
upon the romantic declivities, beside the ponds and among the craggy 
niches along the wild shores '; the spires of distant towns lifting them- 
selves above the hills; the river, the meadows, the woods; — these, 
and a thousand minute objects, make up a picture of rare grandeur 
and beauty. 

Upon the declivity of this elevation, once stood a lonely cottage, 
which, for more than half a century, was the home of the renowned 
Moll Pitcher. There, in that then sequestered spot, it may literally 
be said, she was visited by those of every kindred and nation. And 
there, on the ninth of April, 1813, at the age of seventy-five, she 
passed within that veil which she had so often professed to lift for 
others to catch glimpses of their future destinies. That she was an 
extraordinary woman, cannot be doubted. Taking the position, 
which we are assured she herself always assumed, that she possessed 
no other means for direct intercourse with the unseen world, than 
those who sought her aid, it must be acknowledged that she had 
marvelous quickness of perception — ability to compare, combine, and 
analyze, with wondrous rapidity. And had her mental efforts been 
directed to loftier pursuits, we can hardly doubt that she might 
have been a bright star to shed lustre upon the path of men. Few 
could read the human heart with such precision ; and few could with 
such unerring certainty discover a true index to the' affections, the 
hopes, the fears, of others, in a trembling word, a transient glance. 
Her influence was felt throughout the civilized world ; and fortunes 
and honors were secured or lost through her predictions. Her maiden 
name was Mary Diamond. In early life, she experienced severities of 
fortune ; and it is said pursued her profession for a livelihood. Mr. 
Lewis, in speaking of her personal appearance, says : " She was of 
'the medium height and size for a woman, with a good form and 
agreeable manners. Her head, phrenologically considered, was some* 
"what capacious; her forehead broad and full, her hair dark brown, her 



'O 



36 

nose inclining to long, and her face pale and thin. There was notfr- 
ing gross or sensual in her appearance — her countenance was rather 
intellectual; and she had that contour of face and expression, which, 
without being positively beautiful, is, nevertheless, decidedly inter- 
esting — a thoughtful, pensive, and, sometimes downcast look, almost 
approaching to melancholy — an eye, when it locked at you, of calm 
and keen penetration — and an expression of intelligent discernment,, 
half mingled with a glance of shrewdness." She seems to have pos- 
sessed a benevolent heart, and often to have sacrificed her own com- 
fort for that of others. The intelligent writer just referred to, says 
she has been known to rise before the sun, walk two miles to a mill,, 
purchase meal, and carry it to a poor widow, who would otherwise 
have had no breakfast for her children. She lived in " homely wise." 
But her rude cottage was sometimes visited by the nobles of earth, 
for her fame was as wide as the world. And there, too, came the 
fairest daughters of the land, the dcivmg student, the anxious business 
man, the sighing youth. Her predictions seem to have been dispensed 
with much assurance, and yet with an a-ir of honesty and sincerity. 
Her name will be known to future generations, in the most distant 
lands. Even now, we are told, it is chanted in the wild ballads of the 
old world, and invoked, by the starveling inpsey, as he draws around 
the evening group of villagers. It cannot be denied that her predic- 
tions were verifted oftentimes wii-h-.almost startling exactness, and acute 
reasouers have been most painfully exercised in attempting to account 
for her extraordinary success on any known principles. 

And now, in bidding adieu to those who harve kindly listened to my 
\ imperfect remarks, I may be allow:"' the simple observation; that su- 
perset on is a term broad and varied in Us popular meaning and 
application. Often when it has reigned in its legitimate character, its 
sceptre has thrown a dark and fe:*r feT*t shadow upon the path of men. 
i But sometimes its operations have been misapprehended, and men have 
referred to it occurrences belonging rather to the departments of true- 
science. Let us remember this; for there are mysteries in the loftest 
regions of truth. 

Note. — While speaking [page 25] of the recantations of some of those who had been zealous 
in hringiiiH to punishment the supposed witches, in 1C92, mention <>f Judge Sewall wa< acci- 
dentally omitted. After lhe dreadful scenes had closed, tie was so rjeeph affi cteil in view of 
the part he had taken, that he annually set apart one day for humiliation and prayer, in private. 
And on the general fast, he arose before the whole congregation at the Old South Church in 
Boston, and' remained in penitential at ilude, while a papor of his was read from ill * pulpit, 
expressive of hi" snr'ow. But Chief Justine Stoughton looked hack with very different frel- 
ings. So far from expressing any regrets, he was displeased at hearing others lament Iher 
harsh proceedings. We have no reason to doubt that they were both sincere. 



561 







i>*^ 
** ^ 



u5 



% 




1 

''* </\ : -w?* ; ^\ '•IBS'* «^% 





UP *t 




J^Kf' N. MANCHESTER, 
INDIANA 







^ 








